Iron juniors win right to rail talks

The competition watchdog has granted a group of iron ore juniors in the Pilbara the right to collectively bargain with major iron ore miners over rail haulage and access.

The North West Iron Ore Alliance today received authorisation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to represent its members in negotiations.

Members include Atlas Iron, Brockman Resources and FerrAus.

"The proposed arrangements allows NWIOA and other who approach NWIOA (who do not own or operate rail infrastructure) to collectively negotiate on the terms and conditions, including price," the ACCC said in a statement.

NWIOA is looking to engage major miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group, which all own rail line in the Pilbara.

"The ACCC considers that collective negotiations are likely to result in some transaction costs savings compared to a situation where the producers seek to negotiate individually with the service providers," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said.

He added that participation is voluntary for both iron ore producers and the service providers.

Fortescue, which also is seeking greater rail access, has been supportive of the Alliance members' efforts.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have resisted calls to open up access to their rail lines, saying there was no excess capacity to allow third-party rail access.

The Alliance has claimed that combined production from their iron ore mines could generate up to $200 million a year in state government royalties if they had access to rail lines.